190 years later, Texas Alamo defender descendants still fighting for freedom

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(The Center Square) – Texans are celebrating the 190th anniversary of Texas independence this year, most recently commemorating the fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

This past week, hundreds of descendants of Texas independence fighters convened at the Alamo in San Antonio, many of whom six, seven and eight generations later are still serving in some capacity to defend freedom.

One is Neely Yackel, from Gonzales, Texas, a descendant of Texans who are considered heroes today but were farmers and ordinary people who came to Texas seeking a better life. Under extraordinary circumstances, they stood for liberty and life when both were at stake. 

One of her ancestors, Cornelius Smith, was among Texas’ Old 300, who came to Texas as part of Stephen F. Austin’s first colony. Another was one of the Old Gonzales 18, James B. Hinds, who refused to surrender a cannon to Mexican soldiers, leading to the Battle of Gonzales where the first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired.  

Another was one of the Immortal 32 and Alamo defender, James George, who perished in the Battle of the Alamo. The George family traveled to Texas with the Dickinson family, arriving in DeWitt’s Colony. George would later fight and die alongside Almeron Dickinson. Emily Dickinson would tell Gen. Sam Houston of the Alamo’s fall, prompting him to order Texans to flee from Mexican troops, known as the Runaway Scrape. Yackel’s descendants were among those who fled in the scrape and rebuilt their lives in the new Texas republic.

Now, 190 years later, Yackel is serving in the Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office as its new school safety liaison “to help keep the children of Lavaca County safe.” Lavaca County Sheriff Steve Greenwell is a key member of an elite task force in Texas’ border security mission, Operation Lone Star. It’s leader, Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd, is also a descendent of a Texas independence fighter. 

Although illegal border crossings have dropped by more than 90% under the Trump administration, border security is ongoing. OLS Task Force members are combatting serious threats on a regular basis, including terrorism, The Center Square reported.

In the small, rural county of Lavaca located several hours from the Mexico border, Greenwell’s been combatting cartel-associated crime as soon as he was sworn into office in 2025, The Center Square exclusively reported. He first warned about border crime and fentanyl pouring into the county when he was justice of the peace in 2023, The Center Square exclusively reported. He was elected in 2024.

“We don’t know how many illegal aliens really came into the country during the Biden administration,” Greenwell told The Center Square. “They weren’t vetted and we don’t know who they are. We literally caught an ax murderer who was in the country illegally. That had never happened before. Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas legislature who provided additional resources, an OLS-funded deputy caught him and many others.”

Greenwell is referring to a Salvadoran national and MS-13 leader who a deputy pulled over on a traffic stop. Unbeknownst to him, the driver had an INTERPOL red notice and was wanted for torturing and beheading four people, The Center Square reported. He was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

“We just stopped a man who was driving with no driver’s license, no insurance, couldn’t speak English,” Greenwell added. “After the fact we found out he was convicted of molesting a 6-year-old. He was also in the country illegally. OLS operations and traffic enforcement are saving lives.” 

Greenwell, who previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Border Patrol and in what is now Homeland Security Investigations, is taking a comprehensive approach to crime, including counter narcotics and school safety. “We’re focused on finding the drugs that poured into the county for four years under the Biden administration. Child predators, child rapists, sex offenders. We’re focusing on drug dealers who are targeting our kids,” he said.

Yackel, who served as a teacher and principal for a combined 27 years, is uniquely positioned to help with this effort, Greenwell said. It was essential to “get an educator embedded with the sheriff’s office to work with the schools. Neely brings a level of credibility and skills that we didn’t have before.” He hopes other counties can do the same.  

First responders, law enforcement and schools are now implementing measures to comply with a new law, the Uvalde Strong Act. It was enacted after the Robb Elementary School shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. It stipulates a multitude of new requirements and trainings to be implemented statewide. 

“Lavaca County is implementing a comprehensive approach to school and community safety, including mental health initiatives. School safety is much more than putting up barricades and locking doors. If we can prevent carnage from taking place, success comes from nothing occurring,” Greenwell said. 

“The legislation was crafted with the safety and well-being of every Texas student in mind,” Yackel told The Center Square. “However, meeting its requirements has presented significant funding challenges for schools across the state, particularly in rural areas like Lavaca County.” She’s working to find funding through private grants and donors to help implement the requirements. 

“Our Texas roots run deep, long before Texas was ever a state,” Yackel said. Creating law enforcement partnerships is a critical function of the government: to restrain evil and protect the innocent, Greenwell says.